1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of wireless transceiver devices. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for targeting services according to location-based information derived from a wireless transceiver device.
2. Related Art
The use of wireless technologies for communication is becoming more popular. In addition to personal cordless telephones (e.g., cell phones) and pagers, computer systems (in particular, handheld or portable computer systems including personal digital assistants) are more commonly being equipped with transceivers capable of broadcasting wireless signals (e.g., radio signals) over relatively long distances. These wireless communication devices provide users with greater mobility and convenience, and hence are becoming more widely used.
Cellular network providers generally track the locations of cell phones in order to complete incoming calls. In addition, many cell phones have, or will have, the capability to identify their position to dispatchers for emergency situations in which a xe2x80x9c911xe2x80x9d call is made. Cell phone capabilities are being added to a number of other types of devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs), thereby allowing the position of these devices to also be determined. Other types of wireless communication devices may be equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) capability allowing their locations to be pinpointed. In any case, users of wireless communication devices can often be located to an acceptable degree of accuracy.
As a result, in addition to more conventional uses, wireless communication, devices provide commercial enterprises (e.g., merchants) with opportunities to offer services directly to users (e.g., advertise). For instance, advertisers and the like may use location-based information received from a wireless communication device to establish the location of the device and to imply the location of the user. Other user information can come from other wireless data. Based on the location of the device and the other user information, an appropriate service can be identified and communicated to the user.
For example, when the user is determined to be in the vicinity of a particular merchant, a message can be sent to that user advertising that merchant. Most wireless communication devices have some sort of display capability allowing the message conveying the advertisement to be displayed to the user. PDAs and other such devices typically have even greater display capabilities relative to cell phones and the like.
Thus, in some instances, advertisers and other service providers try to target their advertisements according to the location of the individual user, in order to make the advertisement more relevant and valuable to that user. However, a problem with the prior art paradigm is that, while the advertisement may appear to be targeted to the user based on the user""s location, in actuality it may not be. For example, the user may appear to be in the vicinity of a particular merchant but actually may be only passing by while riding on a train, with no opportunity to disembark from the train in order to patronize the merchant. As such, an advertisement for that merchant is of little or no interest to the user. Not only is the advertisement itself wasted, but the opportunity to provide a more relevant advertisement is also lost.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and/or method that can more effectively target advertisements and other services to users of wireless communication devices. The present invention provides this advantage and others not specifically mentioned above but described in the sections to follow.
The present invention provides a method and system thereof that can be used to more effectively target advertisements and other services to users of wireless communication devices. The present invention pertains to a method and system thereof for targeting content and services (e.g., an advertisement) according to location-based information derived from a mobile wireless transceiver device. In one embodiment, position information as a function of time is used to calculate a rate of travel and a direction of travel. This information can also be used to identify a likely mode of transportation. In another embodiment, geographical information can be used to further refine the mode of transportation. The rate and direction of travel and/or the likely mode of transportation can be considered, along with other information described below, to identify content or services more precisely targeted to the user""s circumstances.
The present invention can be implemented on the wireless transceiver device itself, on a portable computer system (e.g., a palmtop or personal digital assistant) coupled to the wireless transceiver device, or on a computer system (e.g., a server computer system) communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver device.
In one embodiment, position and time information indicating the positions of the wireless transceiver device as a function of time are used to calculate rate-based information, such as a rate of travel, and direction-based information, such as a direction of travel. The rate-based information and the direction-based information can be used by a service provider to more precisely target content (e.g., a service or advertisement) according to the circumstances of the user.
In another embodiment, the rate of travel is used to make an intelligent selection of a likely mode of transportation (e.g., whether the user is walking or traveling by vehicle). The likely mode of transportation can also be used to further improve the targeting of the content.
In yet another embodiment, the rate of travel and the direction of travel are correlated to geographical information in a database to further refine the selection of the likely mode of transportation. For example, the geographical database can be used to determine whether the user is on a highway or on a rail line, thereby indicating whether the user is traveling by automobile or by train. Thus, additional precision can be provided for targeting the service or advertisement.
Furthermore, in another embodiment, the rate of travel and the direction of travel can be used to predict a future position for the user, so that a service or advertisement can be targeted accordingly.
In yet another embodiment, an historical record of the rate-position information and/or the mode of transportation can be generated and maintained for each user and/or device. The historical record can also be factored into the selection of content to be provided.
In still another embodiment, information stored on the wireless communication device is used to further refine the targeting of an advertisement or service. For example, in a portable computer system, users often store key dates such as birthdays and the like. This type of information can be used along with the rate-based and direction-based information to target an appropriate service or advertisement.
Thus, in addition to the position of the wireless transceiver devices, factors such as the rate of travel, the direction of travel and the likely mode of transportation can also be considered in order to more precisely identify an appropriate service or advertisement. Moreover, a potential destination can be predicted, allowing further refinement of the targeted content.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the various drawing figures.